by myself

by (oneself)

1. Alone. Because there's usually so much going on with the kids, I really enjoy spending a quiet Saturday night by myself.
2. Through one's own efforts alone. You can't move that table all by yourself! Here, let me help you. My little girl loves to get dressed by herself, so tutus and cowboy boots have become the norm around here.
See also: by
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

by myself

 
1. with no one else present; alone. I sat at the table by myself. I will not be at the party. I will be at home by myself tonight.
2. without the help of anyone else. I did it all by myself. Can you eat that whole pie by yourself?
See also: by, myself
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • at will
  • at the end of (one's) fingertips
  • be hoist by (one's) own petard
  • be hoist with (one's) own petard
  • be hoist with one's own petard
  • be hoist/hoisted by/with your own petard
  • be on (one's) pat
  • at (one's) doorstep
  • at doorstep
  • a ball and chain
References in periodicals archive
I moved to the United States by myself three years ago when I was 15 to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy.
In their words: a closer look at the Collaborative Conference opening session artists
The yearning for adventure that camp had implanted in my heart gave me the courage to drive to Glacier National Park, Montana, by myself the week after my graduation.
What camp means to me
I was all by myself though so all my friends assume I'm lying about that.
ONE TIME I WAS SKATING this ditch by myself and my skateboard hit me really hard in the testicles and I fell down and rolled to the bottom of the ditch.
15 things you couldn't give any less of a crap about: my favorite ditch in the whole world
"I have a stepbrother and a stepsister, older, but up until fourth or fifth grade I was by myself. My morn kept getting married and moving around and breaking up.
The night shift at St. Agatha's: on a dark Portland street in the wee hours of the morning, who knew you could find the Light of the World?
She expresses this view with some frequency when discussing her way of working, which is to say the way she's always preferred to prepare for performances, doing "a lot of rehearsing by myself." She states that "Balanchine taught me to go into a studio and work by myself; and that's what I like to do." These "request rehearsals" are something of a tradition at NYCB.
The incredible lightness of Kyra Nichols
As the group ate, I sat outside by myself, antsy to hit the trails again.
How I went from wimp to rebel overnight! (Ride On)
With his two hit plays, I Can Do Bad All by Myself, and I Know I've Been Changed, Perry has recently helped revive the urban, or gospel, theater industry.
Currently, Perry's in the process of negotiating with various Hollywood executives a TV sitcom based on I Can Do Bad All by Myself.
From the streets to the stage
Sworn testimony has already been given by myself as to the truth of this Eucharistic miracle.
Eucharistic miracles
I was doing all these things by myself. It was only later that I learned other people were doing the things I fantasized about, which really threw me.
Bob's thing
All By Myself: The Unmaking of a Presidential Campaign In case your're still wondering, it was all Michael Dukakis's fault.
All By Myself: The Unmaking of a Presidential Campaign
But he was happy that I was no longer staying home by myself, feeling lonely isolated from other kids.
"I've got a secret!"
Sometimes I spend whole days driving by myself from one city to another to preach a parish mission.
He saves me
So while my athlete friends spent their afternoons on the field or in the gym, I was out in the woods, sometimes with Dave, sometimes by myself, identifying plants with Peterson's Field Guide.
The case for denial; what the handicapped movement can learn from a totally normal guy